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Izzy told me earlier when she said our moms talked and I was coming over today, that we were all gonna be friends—her, Waylon, me, and her twin brother, JJ.
JJ.
Jeremy.
The boy from the song.
I had no clue he was her brother. Her twin.
I’d never met twins before. I didn’t even know a boy and girl could be twins.
I was nervous coming here, but I was also excited to have friends. Momma said the Montgomery’s are a nice family. She went to school with their mom, though she was a couple years older.
Apparently everyone knows everyone around here. That’s what Mr. Gavin said.
Waylon still doesn’t seem to like me, and I didn’t know if her brother would either. Izzy doesn’t seem to notice or care about that sort of stuff, but I do. I want people to like me.
But I’m not nervous anymore. Now I’m excited. ’Cause even if Waylon never likes me, that’s okay. I have Jeremy—JJ—and JJ likes comics and superheroes—I saw him coloring a Spider-Man in the kitchen—and I have Izzy too, who likes music like I do, and is really nice.
And she tells me, if I want, I can take piano lessons like her.
I really, really want that.
I need one in my house.
I want to learn all the songs.
After dinner, the phone rings.
Mrs. Montgomery comes back and tells Waylon he’ll be staying over tonight.
I’m jealous. I want to stay over too. I want to play with the piano. I want to see what comics Jer—JJ has, ’cause I feel like he has a lot. Wayyy more than me.
He’s looking through one now. I can’t see what it is from over here—he’s at the opposite end of the dining room table—but I think it’s Spider-Man. I remember he was drawing him earlier, so I wonder if it’s his favorite, like Captain America is mine.
If he did have homework, he must’ve finished it earlier.
Or maybe he was sick today, since he was already home when we got here.
Waylon and Izzy finish their worksheets before me. Now they’re talking about some movie they watched the other day, while I work on my last math problem. JJ keeps to himself. He’s barely said a word all night. At one point, when Mr. Montgomery asked him a question—how was his day—and JJ glanced at me, his face reddening.
Izzy started to answer for him, but her mom scolded her. “Isobel. Let your brother answer for himself.”
She’d muttered sorry, and shared a look with JJ, who just shrugged, before eventually saying, “It was okay.”
Mrs. Montgomery’s face tightened at that, but she gave him a small smile and nod and no one pushed him to say more.
He hasn’t looked my way since. And I wonder if he was lying.
“Alright kids, you two, hit the showers,” Mrs. Montgomery says from the attached kitchen. She rounds the island, washing her hands on a dishtowel. She says this to Waylon and Izzy. Then to me, she says, “Your mom should be here any minute.”
I nod, and finish up the last problem. 3+2=___
5, I write on the line.
“But Mom,” Izzy whines.
“Say goodbye, you’ll see each other tomorrow.”
